How Worcester plans to spend $5M from CSX

Tuesday

Jun 18, 2013 at 6:00 AMJun 18, 2013 at 4:21 PM

CSX has declared “substantial completion” to the $100 million expansion of its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets. In turn, the city has received $5 million for the Neighborhood Improvement Fund.

By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

CSX has declared “substantial completion” to the $100 million expansion of its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets.

City Manager Michael V. O'Brien said that, in turn, it has resulted in the delivery of CSX's $5 million Neighborhood Improvement Fund payment to the city.

That money will be used in the following ways:

• $1 million for open space, including open space acquisition and improvements to Harrington Way Playground and Mulcahy Field.

• $3 million for neighborhood improvements, including money for aquatics/recreation improvements at Cristoforo Colombo Park and Holmes Field.

• $1 million for improvements to Shrewsbury Street, Canal District and Grafton Street business districts. Each district will receive $333,000.

“We commend CSX for its work to ensure that this critical infrastructure project fits within its context of Worcester and our neighborhoods,” Mr. O'Brien said. “We look forward to working with them in the future to ensure that this new rail yard serves as an important element in Worcester's economic development activities.”

Announcement that the project is substantially complete is the culmination of a process that began in February 2010, when CSX announced it was moving its freight operations out of the Beacon Park yards in Boston to existing rail yards in Central and Western Massachusetts.

In the process, CSX has made Worcester its new freight hub for New England. The freight yard now encompasses 79 acres, compared to 58 acres before.

The $100 million expansion was part of a private-public partnership between the state and CSX so the rail line between Worcester and Boston could be opened to more commuter trains, with an eventual goal of 20 more trains per day.

Before the freight yard expansion, there were 12 round trips per day between Worcester and Boston. Through the agreement with CSX, the state purchased the property rights of the Boston to Worcester rail line from the rail giant, to accommodate increased freight and passenger service along the line.

To facilitate the expansion of its freight yard, CSX had to acquire 17 properties, at a cost of more than $31 million. It also necessitated the closing of Putnam Lane, which was the only direct link between Franklin and Shrewsbury streets, from Washington Square to Aitchison Street.

Roadway improvements were also made along Franklin and Grafton streets.

Former lieutenant governor and Worcester Mayor Timothy P. Murray played an instrumental role in making the CSX project become a reality.

From the time he first joined the City Council in 1998, and served as mayor between 2002 and 2007, Mr. Murray made the expansion of commuter rail service to Boston one of his top priorities.

During his tenure as lieutenant governor, Mr. Murray worked closely with CSX, federal, state and local officials to help see the expansion project to fruition.

The use of the $1 million from CSX for the Canal District, Shrewsbury Street and lower Grafton Street areas will be determined by the city manager, based on recommendations he received from the CSX Neighborhood Advisory Committee.

Vincent A. Pedone, committee vice chairman, said the money available to those districts could be as high as $2 million — more than $660,000 each — if the city can bond some of the neighborhood improvement projects over time using “gate fees” assessed to each container that enters the CSX yard.

Over the next 20 years, the city expects to receive more than $1 million from those fees.

The area designated for the money is roughly bounded by Belmont Street to the north, Plantation Street to the east, Grafton Street to the south and Interstate 290 to the west.

One of the more repeated requests from residents has been the need for sound barriers and tree plantings to buffer noise from the freight yard.

They said noise has increased noticeably in recent months and the full impact of the freight yard expansion has yet to occur.

Other suggestions that have been broached to the committee include buying security cameras that could be installed along Harrison and Providence streets, which neighborhood leaders have said has become an epicenter of crime and gang activity.

It has also been suggested that streetscape improvements be made along Providence Street.